Alkur'ani ya ƙunshi wahayin Allah, Mahalicci kuma Mai riƙe da Duniya, zuwa ga ɗan Adam. Saƙo ne daga Allah zuwa ga mutum, saboda haka yana da matuƙar muhimmanci a gare mu. Domin fahimtar saƙo yadda ya kamata, wajibi ne da farko a fahimci abubuwan da ke cikinsa daidai, kuma don wannan dalili dole ne a yi nazarin Alkur'ani sosai kuma dalla-dalla. Hakika, akwai mutanen da suke ɗaukar dukan rayuwarsu suna nazarin Alkur'ani, suna karatunsa da yin tunani a kansa, kuma yayin da suke girma da ci gaba, duka a jiki da ruhi, sukan gano da kansu sababbin ma'anoni da abubuwan da ke biyo baya.

The Qur'an contains the revelations of Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, to mankind. It is the message from God to man and therefore of utmost importance to us. To properly grasp a message, one needs first of all to understand its contents exactly, and for this purpose one must study the Qur'an deeply and in detail. In fact, some people do spend their whole lives studying the Qur'an, reading and reflecting upon it and, as they grow and develop, both physically and spiritually, they discover for themselves new meanings and implications.

Na biyu, wasu ilimi na musamman game da yanayin da saƙon ya kewaye suma suna da muhimmanci domin fahimtar ma'anarsa da abubuwan da yake nunawa sosai. Ko da yake wani ɓangare na wannan ilimi na musamman ana iya samo shi daga Alƙur'ani kansa, akwai wasu fannonin ilimi da ba za a gano su ba sai ta hanyar faffadan nazari da bincike.

Secondly, some special knowledge of the circumstances that surround the message is also necessary for fuller understanding of its meaning and implications. Although some part of this special knowledge can be derived from the Qur'an itself, there remain other areas of knowledge that can only be discovered by wider study and research.

Musulmi tun daga farkon zamani sun mayar da hankali ba kawai ga saƙon daga Allah, wato Alƙur'ani ba, har ma ga yanayinsa da tsarinsa, kuma wannan mayar da hankali daga bisani ya zama ilimomin "ulum al-Qur'an", wato ilimi game da Alƙur'ani.

Muslims have from earliest times, applied themselves not only to the message from Allah the Qur'an but also to its setting and framework, and the preoccupation with these ultimately developed into the 'sciences' of or 'knowledge' about the Qur'an, known as "ulum al-qur'an'.

Hanyar da ta dace wajen mu'amala da Alkur'ani, a ra'ayina mai rauni, za a iya bayyana ta a matakai uku. Dole ne ku:

The proper approach to the Qur'an, in my humble view, can be described in three stages. You must:

Da farko, ka karɓi saƙon Alƙur'ani, ta hanyar ji ko karatu.

 first, receive the message of the Qur'an, by hearing or reading it.

Na biyu, a fahimci saƙon Alƙur'ani ta hanyar yin tunani a kansa da kuma nazarin ma'anoninsa.

 second, understand the message of the Qur'an by reflecting upon it and studying its meanings.

Na uku, a aiwatar da saƙon Alƙur'ani ta hanyar tsara rayuwar kanka da kuma rayuwar al'umma bisa ga saƙonsa.

 third, apply the message of the Qur'an by ordering your personal life as well as the life of society according to its message.

Ilimin da ake kira 'ulumul-Qur'an na iya zama hanyar cimma mataki na biyu, wato fahimtar saƙon Alkur'ani, ta hanyar fahimtar yanayinsa da al'amuran da aka saukar da shi a cikinsu.

The branch of knowledge, called 'ulum al-Qur'an may be used as a means for the accomplishment of the second stage, understanding the message of the Qur'an, by understanding its setting and circumstances.

Bisa ga ma'anar gabaɗaya, 'ulum al-Qur'an [Sabuni, Muhammad 'Ali: al-Tibyan fi 'ulum al-Qur'an, Beirut, 1970, p.

According to a general definition, 'ulum al-qur'an [Sabuni, Muhammad 'Ali: al-tibyan fi 'ulum al-qur-an, Beirut, 1970, p.

10.] yana nuni da karatuttukan da suka shafi littafin wahayin da aka saukar wa Annabi Muhammadu ﷺ, na ƙarshe. [Albarkar da aka saba yi wa Annabi ﷺ (Allah ya yi masa albarka da aminci) duk lokacin da aka ambaci sunansa ba za a maimaita ta a cikin rubutun ba, amma ana roƙon mai karatu da ya lura da wannan al'adar Musulunci.] wato:

10.] denotes studies concerned with the book of revelations sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad, [The customary blessings on the Prophet (Allah's blessings and peace beupon him) each time his name is mentioned will not be repeated in the text, but the reader is kindly requested to observe this Muslim tradition.] namely:

Wahayi ne.

 Its revelation.

Tarinsa ce.

 Its collection.

Tsarin sa da shirya shi.

 Its order and arrangement.

Rubutu ne.

 Its writing down.

Bayani game da dalilai da sababin saukar wahayi.

 Information about the reasons and occasions of revelation.

Abin da aka saukar a Makka da abin da aka saukar a Madina.

 About what was revealed in Makka and what in Madina.

Game da ayoyin da ke soke wasu da kuma waɗanda aka soke

 About the abrogating and abrogated verses.

Game da ayoyi bayyananne da ayoyi mara bayyani.

 About the 'clear' and the 'unclear' verses.

Kalmar nan ta shafi har da karatun da ya shafi Alkur'ani, kamar haka:

The term also covers Qur'an-related studies, such as:

Bayanin ayoyi da nassoshi daga Annabi da kansa, da sahabbansa, da tabi'ai, da malaman tafsirin Alqur'ani na baya.

 The explanation of verses and passages by the Prophet himself, his Companions, their followers and the later exegetes of the Qur'an.

Hanyoyin bayani.

The methods of explanation.

Masana tafsiri da littattafansu.

 The scholars of exegesis and their books.

Manufar wannan littafi, kamar kowane littafi na 'ulumul Qur'ani, ita ce taimakawa wajen samun kyakkyawar fahimtar saƙon Alƙur'ani ta hanyar bayar da bayani game da yanayin saukarsa, tsarinsa da kuma al'amuran da suka kewaye shi. A babban ɓangare, littafin bayani ne na zahiri game da al'amarin gargajiya na 'ulumul Qur'ani. Wasu reshe-reshen 'ulumul Qur'ani, irin su rarrabuwar rubutun, salo, siffar adabi da sauransu, an taɓa su kawai a taƙaice, yayin da wasu waɗanda suka fi muhimmanci a ganin marubucin an yi bayaninsu sosai. Musamman, batutuwan da suka shafi fahimtar rubutun (asbabun nuzul, al-nasikh wa al-mansukh, da sauransu) an yi musu bayani mai faɗi, yayin da wasu, kamar "harufa bakwai" ko rubutun Usmaniyya, waɗanda ke amfanar masu karatu masu zurfin sanin Larabci na gargajiya kawai, an gabatar da su amma ba a yi musu cikakken bayani ba.

The aim of this book as all 'ulum al-qur'an is to help towards a better understanding of the Qur'anic message by providing information on its setting, framework and circumstances. To a great extent it is a descriptive account of the traditional subject of 'ulum al-qur'an. Some branches of 'ulum al-qur'an, such as the divisions of the text, style, literary form etc., have only been touched upon briefly, while others that seemed more important have been dealt with in more detail. In particular such topics related to the understanding of the text (asbab al-nuzul, al-nasikh wa al-mansukh, etc.) have been treated more extensively while others, such as the 'seven ahruf' or the 'Uthmanic writing, which are of benefit only to readers with a good knowledge of classical Arabic, have been introduced, but not elaborated upon.

Na takaita kaina ga gabatar da ra'ayoyin da aka amince da su gabaɗaya a kan batutuwan, kuma inda babu daidaito, na ambaci mafi muhimmancin ra'ayoyin da suka sabawa juna. Ko da yake ina da nawa ra'ayoyi a kan wasu tambayoyi, manufata ta asali a cikin wannan 'Gabatarwa' ita ce in sanar da mai karatu game da maudu'in, ba in jagorance shi a bayyane ko a ɓoye zuwa ga ƙarshe-ƙarshen nawa ba.

I have restricted myself to presenting the generally-accepted views on the issues and, where no consensus exists, have referred to the most important of the divergent opinions. Although I do have my own views on some questions, my basic aim in this 'Introduction' is generally to inform the reader about the subject, and not to guide him overtly or covertly towards my own conclusions.

Akwai wasu al'amura masu alaƙa da nazarin Alƙur'ani waɗanda na ba su kulawa ta musamman, tun da wannan "Gabatarwa" ga 'ulumul-Qur'an an yi ta ne domin wani takamaiman masu karatu, wato matasa Musulmi masu ilimi waɗanda ba su da ko kaɗan damar samun asalin littattafan da suka shafi wannan fanni. Saboda haka na haɗa wasu batutuwa da suka dace musamman ga wannan masu karatu, kamar:

There are a number of matters related to the study of the Qur'an to which I have drawn special attention since this 'Introduction' to the 'ulum al-qur'an is aimed at a special readership, namely, young educated Muslims with little or no access to the original sources on the subject. I have therefore included several topics, of special relevance for that readership, such as:

Masana Orientalist da Alkur'ani.

 Orientalists and the Qur'an.

Fassarar Alkur'ani.

 Translations of the Qur'an.

Fassarar Alkur'ani ta zamani.

 Modern interpretation of the Qur'an.

Harshen Alkur'ani.

 Language of the Qur'an.

Karatu da tilawar Alkur'ani.

 Reading and recitation of the Qur'an.

Haka kuma, musamman don amfanin waɗannan masu karatu, sau da yawa na kan kawo misalai na yau da kullum don bayyana maudu'an da aka tattauna da kuma sa su zama masu sauƙin fahimta.

Again, particularly for the benefit of these readers, I have often quoted typical examples to illustrate the various points discussed and make them more easily comprehensible.

A ƙarshe, domin taimakon masu karatu waɗanda ba su saba da harshen Larabci ba, na samar da nassoshi zuwa fassarorin Turanci inda suke akwai (kamar fassarar littattafan hadisi, da sauransu). Duk da haka, a wasu maudu'ai (misali asbab al-nuzul ko al-nasikh wa al-mansukh) babu wani littafi a Turanci har yanzu, don haka dole ne a takaita nassoshi ga littattafan Larabci kawai.

Finally, to assist readers not familiar with Arabic, I have supplied references to English translations, where available (such as translation of hadith books, etc.). However, on certain topics (e.g. asbab al-nuzul or al-nasikh wa al-mansukh) there is no literature available as yet in English and references had to be restricted to Arabic sources only.

Na kuma yi ƙoƙarin lissafa a cikin littafin tunani aƙalla littattafai ɗaya ko biyu cikin Turanci ga kowane sashe, daga inda za a iya samun ƙarin fahimta game da batun da aka tattauna.

I have also attempted to note in the bibliography at least one or two books in English for each section, from which more insight may be gained on the topic discussed.

Ina fatan wannan littafi (a iya sanina, shi ne na farko irinsa a harshen Turai) zai cika manufarsa kuma ya taimake ka ka fahimci saƙon Alƙur'ani sosai, ka kuma aiwatar da shi a rayuwarka, Allah ya karɓi wannan ƙoƙari namu mai sauƙi, ya kuma gafarta kurakuranta.

May this volume (to the best of my knowledge, the first of its kind in a European language) fulfil its purpose and assist you to grasp fully the message of the Qur'an and to apply it in your life, and may Allah accept this humble effort and forgive its shortcomings.

Ahmad von Denffer Leicester. Ramadan 1981/1401

Ahmad von Denffer Leicester. Ramadan 1981/1401